1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus that displays information related to a charging area.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are charging area display apparatuses for vehicle in the known art that display a charging area on a roadmap by utilizing a navigation system and notify the driver of the presence of the charging area (see Japanese Laid Open Patent Publication No. 2000-113258).
However, in such a charging area display apparatus for vehicle in the related art described above, a charging area contained in the roadmap around the current vehicle position displayed by utilizing the navigation system is displayed without changing the scaling factor of the roadmap. As a result, a problem arises in that when a detailed map is on display or the charging area ranges over a large area, the whole charging area cannot be shown on the roadmap around the current vehicle position, making it difficult to determine a route which may be taken to avoid entry to the charging area.
An object of the present invention is to display the relationship between the current vehicle position and the entirety of a charging area as the vehicle approaches the charging area to make it possible to easily determine a route which may be taken to avoid entry to the charging area.
The charging area display apparatus for vehicle according to the present invention comprises a storage device that stores in memory roadmap data and charging area data, a current position detection device that detects a current position of a vehicle, a display device that displays a roadmap, an approach decision-making device that decides that the vehicle is approaching a charging area based upon the current vehicle position detected by the current position detection device and the charging area data and a scaling factor change device that changes the scaling factor of the roadmap displayed on the display device so as to allow both the current vehicle position and the entirety of the charging area which the vehicle is approaching to be contained within the display screen when the vehicle is determined to be approaching the charging area. In this charging area display apparatus for vehicle, the display device displays the current vehicle position and the charging area which the vehicle is approaching on the roadmap, the scaling factor of which has been changed by the scaling factor change device.
In the charging area display method for vehicle according to the present invention, the current vehicle position is detected, the vehicle is determined to be approaching a charging area based upon the current vehicle position having been detected and charging area data, the scaling factor of a roadmap displayed on a display device is changed to a scaling factor that allows the current vehicle position and the entirety of the charging area which the vehicle is approaching to be contained in the display screen if the vehicle is determined to be approaching the charging area and the current vehicle position and the charging area which the vehicle is approaching are displayed on the roadmap displayed at the scaling factor having been changed as the vehicle approaches the charging area.